Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

thesbaine t1_j8djc7k wrote

Generally the extra fee is to cover electronic payment processing fees levied by 3rd party payment processors. States are also generally not allowed to eat the cost because you'd be taking money out of the "pockets" (paid taxes) of people that chose to show up and pay in person. Tax collectors in other municipalities and states all charge similar fees.

That said, $6.00 is insane and way over priced. Someone should get around to auditing that department and figure out who they're using as a payment processor.

26

Weary_Ad7119 t1_j8dox9v wrote

They have to pay teams to maintain the payment system. It does need a minimal amount of integration and maintenance to keep it up to date.

6

thesbaine t1_j8drxos wrote

If y'all have teams of people maintaining a payment system then something is very, very wrong.

9

adult1990 t1_j8ecpl4 wrote

I would like to apply to be on this team full time

1

Weary_Ad7119 t1_j8e6tkx wrote

You need to maintain the site and the interoperability, paying for the SLA, etc. The payment processing integration must be maintained. Not the service itself.

0

thesbaine t1_j8e89s8 wrote

Breakdown time:

In 2019 there were just over 9,000,000 licensed drivers in PA. Assuming about 50% renewed online, and assuming an even spread over 4 years, you're talking 1,250,000 renewing per year online. That's $6,750,000 per year.

There's no way that the SLA, maintenance, hardware costs, and plugins cost that per year alone. If it does, going back to an initial statement, something is very, very wrong.

7

Weary_Ad7119 t1_j8e8ukz wrote

A 6 million dollar a year CMS with integrations is pretty common at the federal level. I don't think the economics would change that much at the state level for a critical site 🤷‍♂️.

1

raven4747 t1_j8ea77y wrote

really? the federal level only encompasses 50 states, i guess its not that different.. /s

3

Weary_Ad7119 t1_j8efim5 wrote

But the complexity doesn't scale with users. Sure you might have more AWS or Azure costs, but you are still left with the complexity of a CMS with multiple integrations. You still going to need an SLA/support comparible with any federal run CMS. It might be even harder depending on budgets around supporting services.

2

Stick--Monkey t1_j8gp8m6 wrote

They have to pay for buildings and actual people in meat space. What’s your point?

1

Weary_Ad7119 t1_j8hhl5w wrote

Christ you folks are argumentive. SE, Ops, and technical PMs are all paid easily double if not triple the cost than a warm body standing at a desk. Per my other comment, a site like this can easily be a few million a year to build and maintain.

1